


Cat and Mouse

by vivilove



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Jon Snow knows things, King Jon comes to the Vale, Tumblr Prompt, we can call this book canon-esque I think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28412040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivilove/pseuds/vivilove
Summary: She must wait a little longer for the comfort of Jon’s arms and for the answer to her questions, wait for a time when they can truly be alone to speak.And, while she waits, she will be forced to play the game.She smiles and lies and avoids him for a fortnight as she is bid to do.The king has told Baelish he should like to meet his daughter but excuses are always given. So, a different sort of game begins over the following fortnight, a mad game of cat and mouse. He pursues her and she flees. She can almost pretend he is not the Jon she knows, that he is someone else.
Relationships: Jon Snow/Alayne Stone, Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Comments: 46
Kudos: 170





	Cat and Mouse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jade_Masquerade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Masquerade/gifts).



> This is for a prompt I received on Tumblr- “You want me to forgive you?”
> 
> Gifted to Jade whose wonderful 'The Thawing of Winter' incites all my King Jon & Alayne feels. This is very different than her story and it's just a little thing but I hope you enjoy it, my dear :)

Of all the times Sansa had prayed to see her family again, Jon was honestly the last one she’d expected to see even believing the others lost forever. It was the dead she thought she’d see first, thinking some fatal slip would send her to join them at last.

But that is not the case and, like everything else, even seeing Jon again, though sweet, has been far different than expected once it came to pass.

“Your Grace, welcome to the Vale. We are honored to host the King in the North,” Lord Baelish says in that unctuous tone she knows too well.

Her tummy twists uncomfortably as she’s wanting so much to rush into his arms, to show him her face and hope he’ll see beyond the darkened hair and years between now and then.

But it would not be safe. Who knows what schemes Littlefinger has in mind? Sansa does and Jon Snow is not part of them, that is for certain. Baelish cannot secure the North through Ned Stark’s bastard. Whatever plans Robb had made prior to his death, he’s counting on using Ned Stark’s daughter to gain power. The new King in the North is an obstacle and Petry does not let obstacles stand in his way indefinitely.

_I must protect him._

Can she even? Would this man want her protection at all?

And, as she watches Jon approach with the Knights of the Vale kneeling in the snow as he strides towards them, some small part of her knows fear. She’s heard rumors, stories. He is a man now though no longer a man of the Nights Watch. Can those stories be true? So much has changed since they’ve left Winterfell. She is not the girl she had been and he is not the boy he once was.

_Who are you now? Where have you been? Will you take me home?_

Lothor Brune tugs at her sleeve, bidding her to step back and away from her false father. A king is meeting with the Lord Paramount of the Vale. She is a bastard girl and must remember her place. That is what Petyr had hurriedly whispered when word reached them of Jon’s approach. She must wait a little longer for the comfort of Jon’s arms and for the answer to her questions, wait for a time when they can truly be alone to speak.

And, while she waits, she will be forced to play the game.

She smiles and lies and avoids him for a fortnight as she is bid to do.

The king has told Baelish he should like to meet his daughter but excuses are always given. Why does the king wish to see her? Does he suspect who she is? Or does he wish to bed her? That is what some of the serving women have hinted. She does not know but it still does not seem safe to reveal herself.

So, a different sort of game begins over the following fortnight, a mad game of cat and mouse. He pursues her and she flees. She can almost pretend he is not the Jon she knows, that he is someone else.

She comes to revel in the thrill of it, of those breathless close calls and the beguiling lure of his boots crossing the paving stones in her direction, the hysterical giggles she must stamp down at the thoughts of him drawing nearer and nearer until he catches her. She begins to dream of that day when he confronts her at last.

She still wants to be held in his arms but she wishes for unseemly things, too. She wants a kiss, a sweet kiss as light as falling snow. What is wrong with her? Will he ever forgive her for it when they inevitably meet face to face?

* * *

Alayne Stone has proven to be as elusive as smoke in the breeze for nearly a moon. He should not allow himself to be distracted from his purposes but she is distracting to say the least.

He is here for two reasons; to seek aid for the North in the wars to come and to find one girl and discover her secrets.

He hopes to win these Valemen over but he will need an ally besides Yohn Royce. He will need her. He’s tried to invent opportunities to speak with her alone, to get close to her, but Littlefinger is always annoyingly close by, lurking, smirking and foiling his efforts. He would fling him through their fabled Moon Door if this were the Eyrie though it might be suicide for himself.

Here at the Gates of the Moon; however, Jon must practice patience, never easy for him before and less so since he died. But he is not some reckless, halfling beast…or rather, he cannot behave like one here. He is a king now, for better or for worse.

_And will Sansa ever forgive me for that someday if I should indeed find her?_

But if the girl named Alayne is who his heart hopes she is, he must get her away from this place. She belongs in Winterfell with him.

He catches glimpses of her, here and there. He watches her discreetly from distances, seeking some sign. She is beautiful and kind, industrious, knowledgeable and well respected here. _They would be proud of you despite the mask you must wear._

And while those traits Alayne possesses all suggest she is exactly who he hopes, a dirty, different corner of his soul secretly begins to nourish hopes that she is _not_ her, that she is just who he’s been told, Alayne Stone, a bastard girl.

It would make it simpler to take her home as his bride, less complicated to explain marrying a bastard girl to his bannermen than his supposed half-sister. Marrying Sansa Stark will mean explaining some things. Will they even believe him? Will she?

_Time to find out._

“My lady?”

She spins in the courtyard to find herself cornered. She has done well at avoiding him until this morning when the freshly fallen snow had made her easy to track.

“Your Grace,” she stammers, backing towards the stable. She has no place to go. He does not want to frighten her but she will not escape him either. Intuition tells him she does not mind being caught. And within, a primal hunger stirs as he paces closer to his quarry.

In the stables, she can no longer allude him and stops trying. He removes his gloves, allows his burned hand to caress her soft cheek. Her blue eyes flutter close, so very enticing. Her breath hitches. Does she think he means to take her? As if by being a king he has any right to do such a thing?

He leans forward, huffing a quiet laugh and gently kisses her forehead. “I knew it was you.”

Her eyes open again and he sees relief and affection. She flings herself into his arms, nuzzles into his neck. “I wasn’t sure if it was safe to come to you or when. I’m sorry for avoiding you. Can you forgive me?”

“You want _me_ to forgive _you_?” he asks, incredulous. “It is I who must make amends with you, Sansa.”

Puzzled, she draws back from his embrace and asks for an explanation.

It is a long one.

And when he is done, she has things to tell him as well.

* * *

King Jon came to the Vale seeking support for his upcoming war. He left a little over a moon later with the Knights of the Vale following him, Little Lord Robyn safely in the custody of Yohn Royce and Littlefinger’s bastard daughter by his side.

There are rumors that the pair plan to marry though the girl’s father will not be present. He’d gone missing one morning after the Vale had awoke to fresh snowfall. No one of consequence will miss him all that terribly. And neither Jon nor Sansa are asking forgiveness of anyone for that.

* * *


End file.
